Reciprocals in the making: multiple grammaticalization in Manambu

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the pathways of multiple grammaticalization of reciprocal meanings in Manambu, a Ndu language from the Sepik area of New Guinea. The reciprocal-associative marker 'each other; together' comes from a grammaticalized noun meaning 'side'. Reciprocal (but not associative) meanings can also be expressed with verbal directional markers, some of which come from grammaticalized verbs. The directionals with a reciprocal reading refer to strictly defined directions and always involve movement 'away' from the speaker or the reference point (which is in itself typologically unusual). Multiple grammaticalization of essentially the same, reciprocal meaning results in the development of additional polysemous structures and multiple partial synonymy.